My phone numbers are listed in the U.S. federal FTC Do Not Call Registry. That means robocallers and unwanted sales solicitors cannot call me. According to the FTC rules, you still may receive political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, informational calls, and telephone survey calls. In addition, companies may still call if you’ve recently done business with the company.
There are serious penalties for spam/scam sales callers. According to the FTC: "Those who violate the National Do Not Call Registry or place an illegal robocall can be fined up to $41,484 per call."
In spite of all this, I get scam robocalls daily. On my landline and on my 2 cell phones. Today, I got 3 of the same robocalls on my landline telling me that the IRS was going to arrest me shortly and, to avoid it, I should immediately call a phone number they gave me. I did not even bother to write down the phone number. And I got another 2 robocalls offering to reduce my credit card rate.
Obviously, the FTC banning of unwanted illegal sales calls is not working and does not eliminate all robo/sales calls, though it has cut down on the number of them. Perhaps, Congress should increase the robocall penalty. Make it a Death Penalty offense. For the callers and the owner(s) of the call center. Or, if you are against the Death Penalty, make it life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole. That should put a stop to the annoying intrusive scam phone calls!
If you do not have your phone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry, here is how the FTC website (ftc.gov) tells you to register your phone numbers: "Add your phone number for free by visiting donotcall.gov, or calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. You may register up to three numbers at one time."